Tips for slowing down a new tracker - Page 1

My pup is 13 months old and we just started IPO tracking with him.  So far he's done 5 tracks.  My TD and I are brainstorming how we can slow him down on a track.  Right now he's sooooooo excited he drags me down the track at a very high rate and misses a lot of the bait.  We've discussed using bait that's not so exciting (which I'm going to try today) and she told me to lean back on the leash to slow him down.  Any other tips that we might add to our "try it" for this?  I'm very glad he's so driven and enjoys tracking and so far he's really trying to understand what I want him to do.  Thanks in advance.

I'm no tracking expert, but have learned that the foundation for the work is very important.    How did you start the dog off in tracking?    Did you do "scent pads", to allow the dog to work the pad himself and develop a "scent association"?      Have you tried using the "lazy esses" tracks to slow the dog down?     Have you tried laying a track and aging it so that the scent is not so "fresh" and the dog has to work harder?    Have you had the dog do a track off-leash to see if he tracks at the same speed as on-leash?     The answers to these questions will help people to help you.

Thanks for the response :)  We just started tracking last Sunday.  He's done 5 tracks so far, all of them have been in a straight line.  I've been emailing with my TD all day about this.  She told me to hold him back with the leash and age the track 15 minutes, I followed her instruction and this last track was beautiful.  He tracked step to step, ate most of the bait and because I forced him to slow down he seemed much calmer and was working more in a "thinking" mode.  It felt so good to see progress.

I start off the track with a flag and scent pad every time.  He has learned really fast what this means and he's getting it.  When he's off leash he tracks very fast at a run.  My pup is very high drive, and I'm learning he's moreso all the time.

The first times I did "tracking" with my pup was just scent pads, and nothing more.    I laid out scent pads in a circle, about 3 ft. in diameter with the whole inside tramped down (like a crop circle, lol), and laid food within the circle, and along the edge.    We did this about 4 times before progressing to short line tracks.    If you are having problems with speed, perhaps think about going back to the foundation and using the scent pads only - make them big and age them at least 20 min.   Have sufficient food in them that the dog will figure out that the scent is only where your footprints are - I used to use at least half of his breakfast kibbles in the track.    Let the dog work the scent pad on his own, but on a leash that is loose.    This way the dog is learning that the footprints/scent contain food, the leash should be on and loose and that there's no rush as he can take as long as he wants to "find" all the food.

Sometimes going back to the basics will give you greater progress.    I have not tracked all winter due to snow depth, so when the snow is all melted then we will start with scent pads again as my pup was only about 4 months old when the snow accumulated.     Once my dog has "gotten the hang of it" again, then we will start back with the "esses" and straight tracks.

Good luck.    I know for myself, teaching tracking (for sport) is the most difficult of the 3 disciplines, lol.

Some say lazy S tracks or "drunken steps" will work to slow down. Some say in older texts tie the lead to something heavy like a tire to drag. Some say use a prong on one clip. Some say more space between the steps.

Maybe your dog does NOT need food to track- as not all dogs are the same.  

20-30 minutes may be peak in terms of scent disturbance so you may want to let the track age longer to force the dog to work harder. Is he following visual of snacks or doing scent work?  Make sure snacks are same color as terrain if you use food.  Not everyone uses food FYI.

Have you started article indications off track?  If so, and he is solid on the indication, throw a ton of articles on the track to slow him.

I think tracking is the most exciting phase as it uses an innate ability that has real life applications between k9 and human. Bitework is along the same lines, whereas the need for extremely precise obedience seems to prove a point to prove a point.

Sounds like this dog "does hunt".  Hehe. A keeper.

:)

 

Thank you both, Koots and Bravo :) I appreciate all the tips, every one is food for thought. I have club training tomorrow so we'll see what the TD and rest of the experienced members say. I'm very pleased with the track we did today.

Sabre has a great desire to hunt for things and I've observed his natural talent since he was six weeks old.

We've not started article indication, yet. I'm not sure when we'll start that.

you might want to start your articles seperate from tracking, in this case, mistakes and/or pressure will not be linked to tracking by your dog, when indication is clean and perfect implement it on your track

 

Imprint and then do more tracks :). I wouldnt care about being excited and fast after 5 tracks, assuming I'd done all my imprinting g before hand. I usually find just the act of training g tracks slow them down.

S turn s, teaching corners, Adding food, removing food, and articles. As those things are addresses I usually find that the speed just takes care of itself one working thru problems has happened and confidence rises in the dog.

Duh!  I forgot to mention the wind!  If you work the dog into the wind, it is easier. If you work the dog with the wind it is more challenging. 

Duke and a z dog are correct.  I wouldn't get too excited after 5 tracks only, as you have much ahead of you.  You should start article indication now- it is a separate task initially.

Generally, you may take the lead from a TD but you alone assume responsibility for the dog's training.  Make sure you read some good books, ask questions from a bunch of experienced IPO folks, and try to come up with your own plan for training your k9.  Everything is cool but I am surprised you haven't already done tracking and article indication.  Spurred this comment.

 Sabre and I tracking from today.  He's improving. Of course I make a substantial anchor :p